PepsiCo eyes fruit, veg, dairy with nutrition unit

PepsiCo is to create a nutrition business unit to develop new products in a series of food categories.

The US food and drink giant said yesterday (7 October) that it has set up a “global nutrition group” to “deliver breakthrough innovation” in fruit and vegetables, grains, dairy and functional foods.

“The creation of this global nutrition group is part of our long-term strategy to grow our nutrition businesses from about $10bn in revenues today to $30bn by 2020,” Nooyi said.

“The market potential is significant, our stable of brands – Quaker, Tropicana, Lebedyansky, Sabra, Alvalle – impressive, and our go-to-market systems powerful. We have been actively ramping up our innovation capabilities and developing strong partnerships with the scientific community, including with universities and research institutions around the world.”

The announcement came as PepsiCo published its third-quarter numbers, which included a move to trim the top end of its earnings guidance.

PepsiCo’s third-quarter net profit was up 12% at US$1.92bn. Revenue increased 40% to $15.51bn. The company said it had enjoyed “solid” volume, revenue and profit results, driven by “broad-based gains across its snack and beverage portfolio” and its recent bottling acquisitions.

However, PepsiCo said it was now targeting an 11-2% rise in earnings per share on a constant-currency basis. Its previous guidance was for growth of 11-13%.

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